This invention relates to a pet door for installation in an outside wall or door of a dwelling. More specifically, this invention relates to an insulated pet door which is pivotally sealable to minimize environmental heat transfer.
Various pet door constructions are known and are commercially available for installation in a variety of dwelling barriers. The barest essential simply requires a hinged or flexible flap over an opening in the dwelling barrier. However, since the pet door must swing in both directions to permit ingress and egress of the animal, sealing the door against the barrier to exclude insects and environmental conditions has proven to be problematic.
A popular and widely used commercial pet door includes a frame with a rectangular opening secured to the dwelling wall or exterior door. A flexible first flap sized slightly larger in both width and length than the rectangular opening through the frame is connected along its upper edge on one side of the frame. The first flap itself has a rectangular opening therethrough sized sufficiently large to accommodate a pet but smaller in width and length than the rectangular opening through the frame. A flexible second flap, sized slightly larger in both width and length than the rectangular opening through the first flap and slightly smaller in both width and length than the rectangular opening through the frame, is connected along its upper edge to either the frame or the first flap.
Constructed in the foregoing fashion, the commercial prior art pet door functions in the following manner. When traveling in one direction, the pet moves the first and second flaps in tandem away from the frame in order to pass through the rectangular opening of the frame. When traveling in the opposite direction, however, the pet moves only the second flap away from the first flap and the frame in order to pass through the rectangular opening in the first flap, as well as the rectangular opening in the frame.
Both the first and second flaps return to a vertically suspended orientation when not accommodating the comings and goings of a pet. Magnets have been utilized to improve the sealing characteristics of the first and second flaps. Typically, one set of magnets is strategically mounted to fasten the first flap to the frame and a second set of magnets is strategically mounted to fasten the second flap to the first flap. When the owner wishes to restrict pet travel through the pet door, a removable panel may be temporarily secured to the frame in order to block the rectangular opening through the frame and to prevent the swinging movement of the first and second flaps.
In spite of the foregoing features, the prior art pet doors are only partially effective in excluding outside environmental conditions. Frequently, the magnets or other sealing measures are unable to maintain sealing engagement during inclement weather or even when a large temperature differential exists between the dwelling and the outside. For example, during winter conditions, cold air blows the pet door inwardly to enter a warm house and, during summer conditions, cool air provided in an air conditioned home blows the pet door open to escape to the warmer outdoors environment. Even when the pet door remains closed to prevent the direct migration of outside air to the inside or visa versa, the pet door still permits virtually unrestricted heat transfer conducted through the flaps of the product. In other words, cold drafts during the winter and warm drafts during the summer around pet doors are commonplace.
The need remains in the pet industry for a reliable pet door to seal an opening in a dwelling barrier to minimize convective and conductive heat transfer. The primary objective of this invention is to meet this need.
More specifically, an object of the invention is to provide a pet door of quality construction having an insulated closure to minimize heat transfer by conduction therethrough.
Another object of the invention is to provide a pet door of quality construction with a movable closure that positively and effectively seals around the entire perimeter thereof to minimize convective heat transfer.
Yet another object of the invention is to provide a pet door of the character previously described which includes a integrally connected latch mechanism to restrict pet use of the movable closure.
An additional object of the invention is to provide a pet door of the character previously described which may be readily installed in a dwelling barrier such as a door or wall.
A further object of the invention is to provide a pet door of the character previously described which may be installed in a dwelling barrier and which may be adapted to a wide variety of thicknesses of such barrier.
In summary, a pet door for installation in an opening through a dwelling barrier with a frame having a rectangular portal therethrough in which an insulated movable closure is suspended to swingingly pivot intermediate the top edge and lateral midline of the closure. A resiliently flexible seal is mounted around the entire perimeter of the closure to sealably engage the rectangular portal of the frame. A selectively operable latch is carried on the closure to restrict movement of the closure within the portal of the frame.